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Stephen A. Smith gets one crucial Warriors fact painfully wrong after Play-In failure
TL;DR
Stephen A. Smith incorrectly stated that the Golden State Warriors haven't made the playoffs since their 2022 championship, marking four years of absence. In reality, this is their fourth consecutive year missing the playoffs.
Key points
- Stephen A. Smith made a factual error about the Warriors' playoff history.
- The Warriors have missed the playoffs for four straight years.
- Smith was at WrestleMania when he made the statement.
Mentioned in this story
Stephen A. Smith
Golden State Warriors
Stephen A. Smith gets one crucial Warriors fact painfully wrong after Play-In failure originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Disappointment remains high in the Bay Area after the Golden State Warriors missed the NBA playoffs for the fourth year in a row.
That is according to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, who spent the weekend at WrestleMania instead of a cursory Google search which would have told him of his mistake.
MORE:Why Warriors fans falsely believe Stephen Curry announced his retirement
"They haven't been back to the playoffs since that championship in 2022," Smith said Monday in a "First Take" segment. "That's four years away from the playoffs."
In fact, the Warriors have returned to the playoffs twice since their 2022 championship win.
In 2023, the Warriors lost a second-round series to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers that ended their latest title defense. And just last season, Golden State again reached the second round, where they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Golden State hasn't returned to the heights that fans saw them reach in the 2010s and earlier this decade. But Smith fudging his facts to this degree won't make Warriors fans happy with the media.
Q&A
What mistake did Stephen A. Smith make about the Warriors' playoff history?
Stephen A. Smith claimed the Warriors haven't been to the playoffs since their 2022 championship, which is incorrect.
How many years have the Warriors missed the NBA playoffs?
The Golden State Warriors have missed the NBA playoffs for four consecutive years.
What was Stephen A. Smith doing instead of checking the Warriors' playoff status?
Stephen A. Smith was attending WrestleMania instead of verifying the Warriors' playoff history.